Artist Martin Binder's Balance Bench, installed in the Garden of Generations, Einbeck, Germany, challenges traditional notions of seating by requiring at least two users to function. Mounted on a single pivot, the bench tilts unless users engage in mutual adjustment. Binder describes the piece as embodying democratic principles, emphasizing the need for consensus and mutual awareness. Originally conceived during COVID-19 lockdowns, the bench prompts reflections on shared spaces, distance, and proximity, transforming seating into an interactive experience that fosters communication and cooperation among users.
The only way to sit comfortably is by mutual adjustment. Finding the right balance requires communication and awareness of others.
It explicitly requires consensus, negotiation, and mutual awareness between at least two people to create a functional public space.
This work directly embodies democratic principles through its design. It cannot function for a single user.
Binder originally conceived the idea during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and it responds to how the pandemic shifted our understanding of shared space.
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